Connecticut Siting Council hears from residents, power company officials, on proposed substation for Fitch Street

By ROBERT KOCHHour Staff Writer

Published 10:45 am, Sunday, June 17, 2012

NORWALK -- The Connecticut Siting Council on Thursday heard from power company representatives and later residents on the 3rd Taxing District's plan to build an $8-million substation at 6 Fitch St. in East Norwalk.

The 3rd Taxing District Electric Department provides electricity to about 3,800 customer accounts in East Norwalk. The municipal utility company purchases its electricity from ISO New England. The district receives that electricity through CL&P infrastructure, including the company's substation on New Canaan Avenue.

"It comes in through their substation. Now we'll be having it come in through our own substation in the middle of our district," George E. Leary, 3rd Taxing District general manager, told The Hour. "This will be more reliable than what we have now. It will give us more capacity."

Leary said the project, a joint undertaking between CL&P and the Taxing District, will provide the district at less cost and, all other factors being equal, result in lower rates for customers. The price of natural gas, he added, is a "major factor" in electric rates.

The project calls for building the substation on the roughly 0.6-acre parcel empty parcel owned by the Taxing District at 6 Fitch St.

On Thursday afternoon, CL&P and Taxing District representatives answered questions from Siting Council members regarding the projects. The state body is charged with reviewing the location, design, construction and operation of public utility facilities. Council members received written and verbal testimony on the project. The hearing drew several dozen officials to the Community Room of City Hall. Renditions and other drawings of the proposed facility were on display for viewing.

In the evening, the Siting Council heard residents' thoughts about the project during a public hearing that was also held in the Community Room. Three people spoke, including East Norwalk resident Diane Cece.

"I basically told them that, in general, I'm in favor of (the project), because we need the added capacity and we need the reliability and presumably that means rate stabilization," Cece said Friday. "Then I told them that I did have some concerns."

Cece said those concerns include the size of the substation. She said some drawings made the facility look larger than it appeared in engineered renditions. She said she sympathizes with the neighbors and plans to research the project further.

Councilwoman Michelle A. Maggio, an East Norwalk resident, said the project will save money for customers in the long term, but added that she believes some residents are concerned about their property values.

"I think that substation is good in the long run, definitely," Maggio said. "I just hope that they'll make it so that it looks nice and it doesn't affect the property (values) of the people who own homes."

Leary said the plan went through the city's zoning-approval process and will fit well into the neighborhood.

"The section facing the street is all going to be landscaping. Behind that we're going to have a control house that looks a house, and then the substation will be toward the back of the lot," Leary said. "There's no traffic, no noise, no smell. It will be well-maintained." After a 30-day comment period following Thursday's hearings, the Siting Council will issue a draft opinion on the proposed substation and a final decision at a later date. If the project is approved, construction will start no later than Nov. 1 and be finished no later than Nov. 1, 2013, Leary said.